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A quick question for EXPERIENCED scuba divers / snorkelers?
Hey now!
I'm just getting into snorkeling and scuba diving and want to get a really good mask/snorkel/fins to begin with. Unfortunately, I do not live anywhere close to a dive shop and have to order these items online. The store has said not to worry about sizes, as I can send back and exchange sizes at no charge to myself (which is really rare and nice of them). But I am not sure which brand or model to go with, especially for fins.
What would you consider to be the very best set of fins, if money was not an issue? Atomic? Mares? Should I get split fins?
Do dry snorkels really work? Do they close when submerged? If you have a good dry snorkel what brand did you get?
Thanks a bunch. Any extra advice or abuse you want to include for a rookie scuba diver/snorkeler would be appreciated. I will be taking a PADI or NAUI course in the winter on vacation, but wanted to practice snorkeling all summer and fall.
You have to decide if you intend to dive in warm climates or cold climates first. If you intend to dive anywhere other than those southern states that are along the Gulf of Mexico, you'll have to have cold climate fins which accomodate your foot + a 3-5 mm bootie whereas warm climate fins slip right onto your bare foot. Hopefully you know this already.
If I assume cold climate, then I'm a Mares Volo believer! This fin has a pivot point in the middle of the fin to make your kick a little easier with more propulsion. If you go with a Mares Quatro, you're not going to like it! I have this fin, and it was "the most powerful" back in the day when I bought my "best equipment". This sucker has some great propulsion, but only if you have tree trunks for legs! To kick this fin for a whole dive will get your legs cramping up real quick unless your in better than average athletic shape.
Soon after these fins came out, the split fins came out. At that time, it helped let people kick a little easier with more propulsion than regular fins but not quite as much as the Quatro. Then Mares came out with a middle fin, the Volo. The addition of the pivot made the Quatro design easier to kick.
As for snorkels, there's a few considerations. If you intend to do a significant amount of snorkeling then a dry snorkel is definitely worth the price. They definitely stay 95-99% dry, and they'll stay mostly dry underwater. BUT, that's a good *and* a bad thing. Good for obvious reasons, but BAD because when you scuba dive, that air in the snorkel will *pull* up on the side of your mask because there's air in it! That really sucks. It's really uncomfortable on the side of your face. I have an Ocean Master dry snorkel, and I don't even use it on most dives for that reason--the only time I bring it is if it looks like the conditions warrant it, but that's not a good habit, you should always bring a snorkel.
Another thing to consider: stiffness. If your snorkeling, stiffness keeps the thing pointed in the right direction. If your diving, the stiffness only bangs against the side of your face while it wobbles on the side of your mask.
My preference/recommendation would be to have a medium stiff soft rubber snorkel for diving without the dry feature.
Other advice. 90% of my equipment I bought at Diver's Direct in Florida. I can say without a doubt, they have *the* best prices and they have *the* best customer service. I've ordered from them online, and I've even been to their stores and in both ways, they people are knowledgable, friendly and helpful! You can quote me on that! But also remember that when possible, always try to buy what you can afford at your local dive shops, nobody really gets rich selling equipment, you'll just be helping out fellow divers and that's a great thing!
Hope this helps and good luck!
The first two steps in getting certified in scuba diving is to make sure that you are a reasonably proficient swimmer and you get medical clearance from your doctor to take up the sport. As for the swimming, you don't have to master every type of stroke. Scuba certification only requires that you are able to swim about 200 yards using any stroke you want and to be able to float or tread on water for about 10 minutes. If you are in good general health and are comfortable in the water, then you should be able to scuba dive without any problems.
There are about 1,900 professional scuba dive centers in North America alone and your local ones should definitely be checked out. Most will run basic certification programs on a regular basis. These centers or shops should be listed in the yellow pages and you can also check with websites of some of the major scuba diving certification agencies such as PADI or NAUI as they will also have listings. Sometimes scuba diving courses are offered at universities too.
Make sure that the course you are interested in taking as well as its instructor are certified with one of the major scuba diving training agencies. This will ensure that you get proper, safe training for both the technical background knowledge and practical skills required for certification as a scuba diver. You also want to end up with an internationally recognized certification card if you want to go scuba diving at various locations around the world.
Some vacation resorts offer 'resort' courses lasting a day or two which offer beginners some very basic training in order to try out scuba diving. These are not certification programs. Full certification programs involve classroom work, exams, practical skills sessions at a pool and usually about four open water dives in the sea (lake or ocean). The duration of the classroom work and pool sessions vary from a very intensive weekend (with advance reading) to once a week over several weeks. The open water dives will usually take two more days. Dive centers located in the tropics also offer basic certification programs that last several days to a week. Although the intensive weekend programs are quite feasible, many feel that basic scuba diving courses spread out over a few weeks will help beginners learn the skills better. Scuba diving does involve new skills and to learn them all during one full weekend may be too much for some people.
As for which scuba diving certification training agency is the best, there isn't any one recognized organization that is better than another. PADI is the most popular in the world but not necessarily better than NAUI or SSI. NAUI course are often more technical in the classroom than those offered by PADI but both will adequately train you to be a scuba diver. The more important factor would be the individual instructor and your own effort during training/studying. In fact, many scuba diving instructors have certifications from several training agencies.
For people living in the more northern regions, there are a few possible routes to take in order to obtain certification. One can travel down south to the tropics and do the entire basic certification course down there in warm weather. However, this will take up a good portion of a vacation since reading, classroom, pool sessions and open water dives all must be done during that time period. A second option is to take the entire course including the open water dives back in home territory. This usually offers beginners the most time since courses can be spread out over a few weeks. However, the water up north is not as warm as in the tropics and the scuba diving could be seasonal. A third option is to take all the classroom and pool sessions back home and then go down south to do the open water dives in warm waters. Many people have taken this route. Your instructor back home will give you a referral letter to bring down to an instructor located down south who will oversee your open water dives. This is a good combination of taking ample time back home to practice the skills in the pool plus getting the classroom work out of the way followed by having nice warm water to dive in for the open water dives. One thing to be aware of if considering this option is to make sure that your travel to the tropics for your open water dives is not too delayed after finishing up with your pool sessions at home. If too much time has elapsed, one could easily forget the skills learned in the pool by the time a vacation comes along.
The underwater world has so much to offer and only a small percentage of the world's population will ever have the privilege to see it in person rather than on television. Become one of these individuals who will have the honor of exploring the oceans by getting certified in scuba diving.
Clint Leung is a NAUI certified Master and Rescue Scuba Diver. He is also owner of Free Spirit Activewear http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com, an online retailer/designer specializing in premium quality scuba diving activewear. Also numerous articles on scuba diving.
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